A Loss For Words, ‘Before it Caves’

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Guest vocalists are a staple of the pop and hip-hop worlds, slightly less so in punk and indie, but three tracks on the latest from these Abington pop punk veterans illustrate the pros and cons of that approach. Appearances from Dan Campbell of the genre standard-bearers the Wonder Years, Jimmy Stadt of Polar Bear Club, and Lynn Gunn of PVRIS almost overshadow the rest of the songs. Gunn in particular adds a viscerally emotional wallop to the relentless road-weary romance of opener “Distance,” going punch-for-punch with Matty Arsenault’s melodic pining. Likewise with Campbell’s gravelly counter-melodies on “Conquest of Mistakes” and Stadt’s raw grit on the tunefully spiteful “No Pioneer.” Which isn’t to say the rest doesn’t work. Those three, like much of the record, open up a wider canvas than their standard, albeit keenly perfected, pop-punk formula, with a bigger, more produced sound that pushes the band from the all-ages club style to crossover, modern rock radio territory. The only disappointment will come for fans who wanted to be able to see them in smaller clubs this time out.